With a case like Dzokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving brother of the two who set off bombs at the end of the Boston marathon, killing three people, including a young boy, and injuring over 200 people, it’s not surprising that they are bringing in the big guns for his defense. U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler approved Federal Public Defender Miriam Conrad’s motion to bring in Judy Clarke to defend the youth. Clarke has defended a series of high profile cases over the years, including Olympics bomber Eric Rudolph, whom she managed to get off the death penalty, and also the “Unabomber,” Ted Kaczynski.
Judy Clark was once a U.S. public defender in San Diego. Now she works in private practice. Clarke is known for having no intrusive ego, but being a “straight shooter” who is apt at getting high profile cases in which the public is crying for the death penalty to get instead prison – usually with plea agreements before trial.
That, at least, is how she began her public career when she defended Susan Smith, the apparently mentally ill woman who drowned her young sons by driving them into a lake. Clarke managed to get her life in prison for the horrendous act, styling the murders as in fact a failed suicide attempt.
“In light of the circumstances in this case, the defendant requires an attorney with more background, knowledge and experience in federal death penalty cases than that possessed by current counsel,” said Judge Bowler, according to Bloomberg. This appointment will “provide the defendant with adequate and proper representation.”
Though Clarke specializes in cases involving mental illness, it is unclear whether she will be taking that tact this time. Indeed, prosecutors have not even called for the death penalty yet, so the way the case will unfold is by no means certain at this point.